What the book summarizes
The sovereign has twelve principal rights:
The sovereign has twelve principal rights:
- because a successive covenant cannot override a prior one, the subjects cannot (lawfully) change the form of government.
- because the covenant forming the commonwealth results from subjects giving to the sovereign the right to act for them, the sovereign cannot possibly breach the covenant; and therefore the subjects can never argue to be freed from the covenant because of the actions of the sovereign.
- the sovereign exists because the majority has consented to his rule; the minority have agreed to abide by this arrangement and must then assent to the sovereign's actions.
- every subject is author of the acts of the sovereign: hence the sovereign cannot injure any of his subjects and cannot be accused of injustice.
- following this, the sovereign cannot justly be put to death by the subjects.
- because the purpose of the commonwealth is peace, and the sovereign has the right to do whatever he thinks necessary for the preserving of peace and security and prevention of discord. Therefore, the sovereign may judge what opinions and doctrines are averse, who shall be allowed to speak to multitudes, and who shall examine the doctrines of all books before they are published.
- to prescribe the rules of civil law and property.
- to be judge in all cases.
- to make war and peace as he sees fit and to command the army.
- to choose counsellors, ministers, magistrates and officers.
- to reward with riches and honour or to punish with corporal or pecuniary punishment or ignominy.
- to establish laws about honour and a scale of worth.